Brother's Blood
by James Baldwin
Summary: Matvei Nikitin, guardsman of the 85th Noltan, is faced with treachery. When of the Imperial guard on the ice world of Hasld III are in a revolt and Orks and the Arch Enemy are descing to ravage the planet, the guardsmen are in a struggle for survival.
1. Hasld III

Matvei clutched his lasgun close as the echoes of frak mortars burst in every direction around him. He stood in the frozen trenches of the city Luka on the ice tundra world of Hasld III. His sergeant bellowed an order that came up only as a light crackle on the voxcom bead placed in his helmet that told the remaining men to charge. A battlecry was heard and Matvei could see several of his comrades surge from the trenches in a counteroffensive move to combat the recently turned traitor legion's advance. At least, that was what they were told they were fighting. Matvei stood to make the desperate charge, but he felt a padded glove on his shoulder piece pull him back. Standing before him was a Vostroyan officer clothed in the ceremonial red and gold armor clutching a pulsing power sword in one hand and a bolt pistol by his side. His face was masked with a rebreather and it gave an ominous metallic gasping as its wearer stood amongst the chaos.

"What are your orders, sir?!" Matvei shouted above the whines and screams of the mortars.

The Vostroyan motioned for the guardsman to follow him down the trench lines. "Get on a secure bead!"

The guardsman futz with his bead until he came to a secure channel.

"30.21, sir!" he shouted to the officer.

"Alright, now that we have secrecy," said the vestryman in his thick accent, "we need gather as many men as we can and fall back to the Valkryie station, we are getting the hell out of this khek storm!"

"Sir, we have orders from High Command to charge!"

"High Command be kheked, soldier! We are getting out of here, now, THAT, guardsman is an order; follow it!"

Matvei could not believe what he was hearing, a Vostroyan military coup. The sons of Vostroya were defying the will of the Emperor? But, these thoughts were chased from his mind when an old Imperial axiom that was implanted into his mind during basic came from his subconscious: "Ours is not to question why, ours is but to do and die, so it be the will of the Emperor."

He watched as the officer turned away and ran down the trench. A voice crackled in his ear.

"Listen, we will just use this line to keep in touch with the main force. I will vox General Kirill of the 176th Vostroyan Company and tell his to use this channel to direct orders." said the officer.

Matvei ran the opposite direction until he ran into a platoon of guardsmen holding a barricade. An officer was wounded and screaming at a vox caster to demand that they fall back.

"Dammit, if we stay here, these butchers will slaughter us?! How the hell can you say that we are staying?!" screamed the officer.

Matvei ran forward and saluted the officer,

"Enough of the grox sh-" he paused, "Where the hell did you come from?! I didn't know that the Noltan 85th was still on our side anymore!" He held a bolt pistol to Matvei's head. "Explain now, soldier!"

"Guardsmen Matvei Nikitin, no 6789110234, Noltan 85th, sir! I have orders from General Kirill of the Vostroyan 176th to fall back to the Valkyrie station and, with all due respect, to khek High Command."

"How the hell do I know to trust you, guardsman!"

"Tune to 30.21. General Kirill will be broadcasting orders. He has already ordered all of the Cadian 87th to fall back with all the loyal Noltan 85th soldiers." Matvei paused, "And sir, may I ask why you suspect the Noltan 85th to be traitor, sir?"

"They are the bastards firing on us!"

"With the mortars?!"

"With mortars, Leman Russ battle cannon, Basilisk, and bloody lasguns! Those bastards are charging our ranks and butchering my Cadians!"

"Sir, we should fall back as soon as possible. The area will soon be overrun."

"Agreed, let's get the khek outta here and get the hell off this planet." He offered his arma nd shook hands with Matvei, "See you on the battle barge, Emperor be willing…"


	2. Commissar Aleksandr Tselikova

Matvei breathed heavily as the mortars continued to rain hell down upon the snow filled trenches. He could feel the sweat building under his helmet near his brow. He cursed under his breath as his feet slipped from under him causing him to fall prone upon the ground. Hearing a shout above him, he laid there still, fearing it was the end. He saw heavy boots step near his body and stand still. Breathing scarcely as to not call attention to himself lying on the ground, he was able to hear a conversation from the men who stood around him barely over the loud roar and screams of the mortars.

"One of those Noltan, bastards sir. These idiots didn't side with the New Order of things… look where it got em." said one in a deep voice, clearly insinuating Matvei's body on the trench floor. "Orders to fill him full of holes, sir?"

"Fire one round into that corpse, soldier, and I will put one between your eyes." said a commanding voice from behind Matvei.

"But sir -"

"I don't want any wasted power cells. Check the body for anything useful, who knows what we could find…"

Matvei felt a hand go into his pockets, but before anything was taken, he heard a loud crack of a grenade and he opened his eyes to see a dead man fall to the ground, his eyes soullessly staring at Matvei.

"Cut them down!" roared from what Matvei couldn't believe, Commissar Aleksandr Tselikova. Matvei grabbed his capitol from his waist and scurried to cover. Once he was behind a plasteel crate, he opened fire on the commando units who were firing on the Commissar and his troops.

"What the hell?!" shouted one of the commandos wearing winter gear. They opened heavy suppressing fire, but the will of the Commissar was too strong, and his men surged forward into the trench.

"Hack them to pieces men! Forward, I say! FORWARD! Slit the traitor's gizzards open!" shouted the fanatical leader as his power sword slashed into the enemy splitting him into two sections. His men drew bayonets and knifed the commandos and continued to stab and thrust into their dead corpses until the blood stained the ground.

Matvei came out from hiding and held up his hands and shouted, "Matvei Nikitin, no 6789110234, Noltan 85th! Sir, reporting to deliver orders!"

The Commissar gave a grin which showed his sparkling teeth. He was young and had no apparent scars, which was unusual for a Commissar of the Imperial Guard; this meant he was a god of battle, which added to his presence.

"Ho now, do you?" he sat on one of the corpses and turned off his power sword and began to clean the blade. "What is it, Nikitin?"

Matvei looked forward and presented his news over the continuous roar of battle, "Orders are to get the khek outta here and to the Valkyrie stations, ASAP!"

"Under whose?"

"General Kirill of the 176th Vostroyan."

The Commissar stood and laughed, "Well, no way in hell will we make it to the stations in time…" he pondered it and counted his men in his head. "I have fifty eight strong…. Included our new arrival." he pointed at Matvei. "Alright, men, we will hit the Chimera fueling depot."


	3. The Scout Mission

The small platoon of soldiers maneuvered their way as best they could through the hellish trenches of Luka. The Commissar's leadership was unlike anything Matvei had seen before. He was wondering about why the sudden coup, and why was all of this happening. Last he had heard was that the Noltan 85th and Cadian 87th along with a few other companies had turned on the Emperor, but then he heard over other vox casters that they were the traitors. Nothing was making sense in his mind, so he tapped the shoulder of the soldier in front of him and said, "Hey! What the hell is going on here?"

"Eh? Like what?" he said in a strange accent.

"Why have the companies rebelled?"

"From what I have heard, we have rebelled, but we have a Commissar with us… a Commissar doesn't defy the will of the Emperor. I will stick with him until I die here on the Emperor forsaken rock."

Matvei thought about what was said, but he wanted to know more.

They continued to run through the trenches, but the Commissar called them to hold.

"What is it, sir?" asked a guardsman as they all lined up against the snow mounds and trenches to form a long line over looking a station with a large Com Sat beacon on the top. A Leman Russ battle tank hummed as its drivers got out and ran inside, but there were at least three full platoons of Noltan 85th guardsmen.

"We don't know if they are traitor…" said the Commissar.

"Orders, sir?" The Commissar glanced behind him and looked at Matvei.

"Guardsman!" shouted the Commissar.

Matvei ran as fast as he could to the Commissar.

"Matvei Nikitin reporting for duty, sir!" he said with a sharp saluted.

"You are of the Noltan 85th, correct?"

"Yes sir!" he answered.

The Commissar paused and said, "You will go down there and see who's side they are on. If they are on our side, wave at us to come forward, if not, say something into the vox bead and get on all fours, soldier."

Matvei was stunned hearing this news. Fear gripped his heart in its icy grip as he looked at the other guardsman. "Here…" said the guardsman as he handed him his lasgun. "You dropped it back there."

Matvei nodded as he took it, and he turned around, but felt the Commissar's leather glove on his shoulder.

"Good luck, Nikitin, Emperor be with you."

Matvei jumped over the trench and ran towards the depot. Some men ran out to greet him with lasguns primed and ready. "Noltan 85th, eh?"

"Sir!" said Matvei as he saluted.

"Where the hell have you been soldier? We were getting the khek outta here."

"The whole Noltan 85th?

The guardsman sergeant paused, "No, some went crazy and turned traitor and some went with the Vostroyan 176th… we are our own group…" He held a pistol to Matvei's head. "Now, who's side are you on?"


	4. The Seargeant of the Noltan 85th

Matvei swallowed a lump in his throat and said, "I am with the Noltan 85th… that is where my allegiance lies."

"Over half of the 85th is kheked up."

"Are you in that group?" said Matvei as he looked the sergeant dead in the eye.

There was a silence, but the sergeant pulled his pistol down and holstered it. "What were the last orders you were given?"

Matvei hesitated, not knowing whether the truth would do him more harm than good at the hands of the rogues. He closed his eyes and said, "I am following the orders of General Kirill of the 176th Vostroyan." The sergeant turned and looked at him his head cocked a little to his side. "We are to go to the Valkyrie stations to launch off and get to the battle barge over head." the sergeant moved closer and closer as Matvei continued his story. "I am currently under the leadership of Commissar Aleksandr Tselikova along with a platoon who look like mostly Cadians, but it also looks like a mix of other companies."

The sergeant gazed at Matvei for a while thinking over what he was just told. "Nikitin, I believe you, but this whole coup is ridiculous. Looks like the Vostroyans are the only ones who haven't been kheked. For Emperor's sake, we don't know who the hell to trust anymore." he looked around. "Where is your Commissar?"

"Hiding… until you say that you are on our side, they are in position to cut you all down, very quickly."

The sergeant laughed, "Haha! Your spunk is admirable. Aye, we are friend, not foe. Now, call out your Commissar; I wish to discuss the Com Sat files inside. He will want to see what we have." The sergeant walked away toward the small station. Matvei turned on his com and heard a voice crackle in his ear.

"Nikitin!" said the voice of the guardsman who handed him his lasgun. "What the hell is going on down there? Do we fire?" "No. they are friend, they have information that they want to show the Commissar, they may want to accompany us to the Chimera stations."

"What? That's good news… We will send a detatchment before we send Tselikova down there. We will see where their loyalty lie -"

Another voice crackled his ear. It was the voice of the Commissar.

"Khek that, we need to get the hell off this rock ASAP. Just had reports from General Kirill that his battle barge was recently attacked by a Slamblasta Hammer Class Ork Battle Kroozer and several of their Landa' class drop ships."

"Khek!" exclaimed the guardsman.

"So, I am coming down. If we want to get to the battle barge and off this rock before everyone on the surface is butchered by the Orks… hell it's bad enough being attacked by your own men, let alone your own men, Orks, and traitors…"

"Alright. Meet you at the station."

"Oh, and one more thing…"

"Yes, Sir Commissar?"

"Good job, Nikitin."


End file.
